Archives for May 2016

He’s been through hell and back battling against the leftist faux watchdog group, Checks & Balances. The left-wing villains in this group have launched attack after attack against Stump only to be rejected over and over again by a Superior Court Judge.

The same group has attacked the Arizona Attorney General, a former Solicitor General and every other elected, appointed or law enforcement official who has investigated the false allegations imagined against Bob Stump.

He’s even taken hits by a so-called fellow Republican who may have been infected by the Checks & Balances virus.

But still Commissioner Stump holds his ground for truth, justice and the ratepayer way.

You may laugh at my exaggerated description of what’s been taking place over the last year with the Arizona Corporation Commission but sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

The fact is, a battle has been taking place for sometime over who sits on the Arizona Corporation Commission. There are only five seats on the commission which means the left has to capture three in order to seize power and push its green energy agenda.

The Checks & Balances Project has been a key player in this battle putting its weight into frivolous legal challenges and conjuring negative media attention against the Republicans on the Commission. They may have assimilated one already.

This group is part of a vast left-wing network of subsidy-thirsty corporatists disguised as green energy advocates. They’re largely funded by left-wing philanthropists and dark money donors like billionaire Tom Steyer. Their mission is to fundamentally transform US energy policy and that means getting their puppets into key power positions like the Arizona Corporation Commission. Sound familiar?

You can bet candidates like Tom Chabin and Bill Mundell are just who they want to fill two seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission. Both Chabin and Mundell have cloned Big Solar and green corporatists messaging in their campaign themes.

We’re not buying it and neither is Bob Stump. That’s why he’s a super hero to us.

Every time we flip a switch, turn on a light or adjust the thermostat, we’re reminded that common sense commissioners like Bob Stump are holding back the enemies of cheap and efficient energy policy from waging war on ratepayers.

(Gilbert, AZ) – Conservative business leader Christine Jones filed nomination petitions with the Office of Arizona Secretary of State today qualifying her for the August 30 ballot. Jones filed a total of 2,748 signatures – nearly 1.7 times more than the minimum required of 1,639.

Signatures were collected district-wide over a 27-day period reflecting enthusiastic support for new conservative leadership and representation in Arizona’s Fifth Congressional District. Christine Jones is the only non-politician running against a field of career politicians who have a combined total of 36 years in politics.

Upon filing petitions, Jones said, “I am truly grateful for the widespread support I’ve received thus far in the campaign.” She continued, “Citizens across the district have told me they want an end to career politicians and crony arrangements. They’re tired of business-as-usual politics and want fresh bold leadership to overturn the status quo.” She concluded, “I’ve played a key role in one of Arizona’s great success stories: creating thousands of jobs, balancing budgets and rooting out waste. I’ll take that experience and leadership success to Washington.”

If you look at the websites of liberal Democrat candidates Tom Chabin and Bill Mundell you’ll see they’re practically clones. They both use header photos from Roosevelt Lake, including a photo of Roosevelt Dam; the language is identical with the exception of their names and the layouts are inverse. Not much creativity and not much diversity.

(Incidentally, Roosevelt Dam is operated by the Salt River Project (SRP) and is not under the jurisdiction of the Arizona Corporation Commission. Read why here.)

That’s what you’d end up getting on the Arizona Corporation Commission if these two green corporatists get elected in November.

Both campaigns are running exclusively on the message that Arizona Public Service is evil and bazillion dollar deals are taking place in smoky backrooms.

What they won’t tell you is that the leftist-controlled “green” corporations will be working behind the scenes to make these two Democrats carry their agenda.

And what is the agenda of these big green corporations? To keep the flow of ratepayer and taxpayer dollars to the solar industry and other heavily-subsidized green corporations.

Don’t be fooled by all the hyperbole rhetoric by Bill Mundell and Tom Chabin over “dark money.” They themselves will be the beneficiaries of dark money as Big Solar dumps millions of dollars into the Arizona Corporation Commission race to get them elected.

For Big Solar and the other green corporatists, it’s about getting votes on the Commission so they can ramrod policies through that hurt taxpayers, ratepayers and cost thousands of jobs.

This election, beware the clone candidates who will open the door wide to disastrous Obama green energy policies right here in Arizona.

(Gilbert, AZ) – Friday, conservative business leader and congressional candidate Christine Jones kicked off the first in a series of report cards highlighting how government continues to fail the American people. Today’s ‘Department of Failure’ report card focuses on the problems at the Veterans Administration.

“Here we go again, Washington’s career politicians and hordes of bureaucrats have proven just how inept and ineffective they are in solving real problems.

“Comparing VA hospital wait times to lines at Disneyland not only adds insult to injury, it demonstrates a disturbing culture of disregard and disrespect towards our veterans, and it needs to be purged starting at the very top.”

The subheader for their press release proudly proclaimed, “Tom Chabin and Bill Mundell each file approximately 9,000 signatures.” The 9,000 claim was also posted on Mundell’s FaceBook page. There’s only one problem. That number isn’t correct.

According to the Arizona Secretary of State website, both candidates filed hundreds below the 9,000 number they claimed on their joint press release. (By the way, are Mundell and Chabin running as a team with shared expenditures?) Bill Mundell filed a total of 8,345 while Tom Chabin filed 8,483 signatures – not quite the 9,000 boldly professed.

Hmmmm… For two Democrat candidates running solely on a theme against “dark money,” we have to wonder if their nominating petitions contained hundreds of dark signatures?

(Flagstaff, AZ) – Today, Col. Wendy Rogers, Republican candidate for Congress, issued the following statement calling on Sheriff Paul Babeu to make amends to the citizens of Pinal County for using his position to play politics:

“Sheriff Babeu displayed a profound lack of judgment. He showed poor faith and a callous disregard for the people of Pinal County and the 1st Congressional District.” Col Rogers said.

“Mere hours after warning the citizens of Pinal County about a grave threat to their safety from Mexican cartels on local television, Sheriff Babeu sent out a fundraising email to capitalize on the threat. Then Sheriff Babeu later admitted to a reporter that his warning was a calculated element of his campaign for Congress.”

“For an elected official, especially a member of law enforcement, to prey upon the fears of good people to advance his own political agenda is absolutely base and reprehensible. He exploits as a political football the very citizens he swore to protect. Sheriff Babeu must atone and come clean to the people of Pinal County.”

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Lt Col (ret) Wendy Rogers was one of the Air Force’s first women pilots. She and and her husband Hal are both retired career US Air Force officers. Since 1997, they’ve owned a home inspection business covering four counties spanning northern to southern Arizona. Col Rogers is a businesswoman, teacher, social worker and grandmother. She and Hal own their retirement home in the midst of where they do business in Flagstaff, Arizona.

RICK GRAY, SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMAN, STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND CANDIDATE FOR THE ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION FILES OVER 9,200 SIGNATURES FROM ALL 15 COUNTIES.

Phoenix – May 25 – Rick Gray, successful businessman, three-term State Representative and candidate for the Arizona Corporation Commission filed more than 9,200 signatures, almost double the number required by law to qualify for the ballot. These 9,200 signatures represent voters from all 15 counties.

“As I have met with voters in every county of the state, I am sincerely humbled by the support my campaign is receiving,” stated Gray. “Collecting over 9,200 signatures would not have been possible without the incredible help that our campaign has received from great people all across Arizona. This was truly a team effort. I am thankful to each and every person who signed my petition and all those who have worked so hard alongside me to get my name on the ballot. I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Arizona on the Corporation Commission as their Commissioner.”

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WE DID IT…WITH A LOT OF HELP!

THANK YOU to EVERYONE across
the state who helped make this happen!
It was definitely a team effort!

Collecting 9,201 signatures was a monumental task…but WE DID IT with A LOT of HELP! But we aren’t across the finish line yet. We are still in the process of collecting $5 contributions towards our clean elections funds. We need to collect 2,040 individual $5 contributions in order to qualify for clean elections. We are more than half way to our goal but need your help to cross the finish line and wrap this up by June 15th. To learn more about Clean elections, click here.

Please consider donating $5 to the campaign. You can do this online but if you’d prefer you can also download the qualifying contribution form, fill it out and mail it to us. Any AZ registered voter, regardless of party affiliation can donate $5.

Thank you so much for all your help and support.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me at 623.340.8091 with any questions.

Regards,

Rick Gray

About Rick Gray: Rick is a successful businessman, three-term State Representative serving Legislative District 21. During his time in the House he served as the House Majority Whip, Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Vice Chair of Rules and of Commerce and as a member of the Appropriates, Way & Means, County & Municipal Affairs Committees. Rick is running as a Clean Election candidate and $5 donations can be contributed at www.VoteRickGray.com/support For more information about Rick or his campaign for Arizona Corporation Commission visit www.VoteRickGray.com

(Gilbert, AZ) – Conservative business leader Christine Jones signed the Americans for Tax Reform Taxpayer Protection Pledge today marking a sacred promise to the people of Arizona’s 5th Congressional District on the issue of reducing taxes and spending.

The pledge, which President Ronald Reagan popularized 30 years ago, is a promise not to raise the marginal income tax rates on individuals and businesses. The pledge also opposes any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits unless matched dollar for dollar by tax reductions.

“As a successful business leader, I fully understand the adverse impact that our tax policy can have on individuals, families and businesses. I take this pledge very seriously and will do everything in my capacity to relieve the tax burden on Americans,” Christine Jones said. “The next President and Congress must confront the staggering $19 trillion national debt head-on. For far too long, the career politicians have failed to take on this crisis and the problem has only worsened,” she continued. “Reducing taxes, cutting spending and lowering our national debt will be one of my highest priorities.”

Elected law enforcement officials are in the precarious position of approaching their job from either a half-empty or a half-full position. As we’ve seen from many a sheriff, fear is a tremendous motivator when it comes to driving an agenda. Some sheriffs might cast their office as the object to be feared. Other sheriffs cast the outside world as the source of all danger.

The latter is what we witnessed in the public arena from Sheriff Paul Babeu on Tuesday.

In a press conference (which turned into a political speech), Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu claimed he has “additional intelligence” that Mexican hit men or “sicarios” were heading into Arizona to assassinate rival drug cartel members. Those attacks would likely take place over Memorial Day weekend. He cited several incidents south of Pinal County and advised campers and hikers to be fully armed and prepared to protect themselves. The press conference turned political when Babeu blamed the Obama Administration for not protecting our southern border (a point we agree on).

Members of the media immediately picked up on the sheriff’s advisory and ran with stories of impending threats and attacks to American citizens in the Arizona desert. Several media outlets didn’t quite take the bait (KTAR, KPNX)

What was barely mentioned was that hours after the warning, congressional candidate Paul Babeu sent out a fundraising letter mentioning his press conference and advisory. The timing couldn’t be more obvious: Fear is a tremendous motivator for fundraising.

Babeu even appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto talking up the threat and danger of Mexican assassins running rampant through the Arizona desert.

First, any threat of this nature would be announced from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Border Patrol and Arizona Department of Public Safety. When a threat is this serious and credible, it is vetted at all levels of government and is passed through multiple chains of command and communications. Governor Doug Ducey would be one of the first to know and to issue warnings through Arizona DPS. The Sheriff claims he was informed about the threat but failed to share it with other law enforcement agencies?

Second, Paul Babeu is a candidate for congress running on a single-issue – immigration and border security. Even though Pinal county does not border Mexico, illegal border crossers still make their way through his jurisdiction – just like they do in every other county in Arizona. We certainly won’t disagree that immigration and border security has become a national security issue we should take seriously, but some politicians have used the issue as a fear-for-votes political strategy. For Paul Babeu, it’s the only issue he knows and he’s using it at every opportunity for pure political gain. Multiple media appearances and fundraising letters from Babeu are evidence of this.

Finally, in law enforcement matters, every serious credible threat demands a serious credible response or action plan. According to reports, during his press conference, Sheriff Babeu made no request for assistance from the Governor’s office, Arizona DPS, Homeland Security, the National Guard, the FBI, etc. Instead, he told private citizens to arm themselves. A review of several Arizona law enforcement agency websites including the Governor’s office, shows no mention of public safety threats by sicarios in the Arizona desert.

We’re not buying it.

The truth is, we have a county sheriff running for Congress who is sensationalizing on the only issue he knows in order to grab media attention and raise money for his political campaign.

In the meantime, private citizens have been told to pack heat in the badlands of Arizona by a sheriff who apparently is finding it difficult to protect his own constituents.

This Memorial Day weekend, we recommend being vigilant of all threats – whether they’re credible or presented for pure political profit.

But most importantly, we ask that you remember and honor those, who against all fear and personal gain, paid the ultimate price through their selfless sacrifice to protect and preserve our freedoms.

Headlining the event were Arizona Coyotes Shane Doan and former Phoenix Suns player and now broadcaster, Tom Chambers – Yes, THAT Tom Chambers.

If Andy Biggs is trying to hide the fact that he’s not part of the political establishment, he’s doing a terrible job. Holding big dollar fundraising events with big name lobbyists is a sure way to show you’re part of what’s wrong with career politicians and the status quo.

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